Rosmery Mamani Ventura draws marginalized people living on Bolivia’s streets.
“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” — Cesar Cruz
At just 27, she is a rising star whose intense connection with society’s margins produces extraordinarily rich pastel portraits; Mamani Ventura knows this world intimately because she was once one of those people, migrating at 14 from her rural Aymara community to El Alto to work as a maid, a move that brought both excitement and struggle, yet that hardship became the first step toward discovering her artistic talent.
A young boy sleeping on the street, an old woman begging for money-these are the people who draw her eye.
She lived in the countryside until age 14, herding sheep and cows, fishing for pejerrey and trout, and her mother sold goods in the city; like many indigenous teenage girls she came to work as a domestic, kitchen help, and nanny, and when she first rode a bus and saw city lights and planes at the airforce, she thought ‘wow!’ discovering a great new world.
A bad teacher made her hate visual arts until they changed instructors in her senior year.
In his first class they did pastel portraits; she went home excited and drew Julia Roberts from newspaper photos, and when her teacher praised her work and classmates reacted with awe, she felt she has never stopped drawing since, despite her family initially opposing her career choice, insisting she would die of hunger and convincing her to study accounting instead.
One night she decided to leave accounting, turn down her scholarship and study art; her father refused his support, yet she risked everything, never regretting her choice because painting completes her and brings happiness she would not trade for money, and now her mother proudly announces at parties, ‘My daughter is an artist!’
Mamani Ventura is drawn to portraiture because it creates direct contact with the viewer.
Unlike landscapes or figures, a portrait gazes at you saying ‘Look at me. I feel this,’ and she loves drawing elderly people, children, and older women, but not often men; she focuses on marginalized urban people because she sees herself in them, coming from a countryside where barter replaced money and people had everything they needed, yet in the city everything requires money, and the women begging on streets are her own community, her own blood.
She draws them to honor their dignity and tell their stories through pastel.
Bolivian art draws from rich indigenous traditions; the Aymara people have a long history of weaving and textile arts that use geometric patterns and vibrant colors to tell stories. Roberto Mamani Mamani is a renowned Bolivian painter; He uses bold colors and Andean symbolism in his work. His paintings celebrate indigenous culture and identity; He has exhibited internationally, yet remains connected to his roots. His influence inspires younger artists like Rosmery, but she brings her own compassionate realism to portraiture.
“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” — Pablo Picasso
